Packaging firm Manjushree Technopack aims to double sales by 2015, driven by the growth of the middle class in India, and is poised to start construction on a fourth factory.

Managing director Vimal Kedia told FoodProductionDaily.com: “The company has been growing at a rate of 20-25% year-on-year non stop for the past 10 years.

“We are growing plastic [production] by 42-50% year-on-year. By 2015 we should be at 100,000t per annum and $100m.”

Manjushree specialises in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). Half the packaging it produces is dedicated to PET for soft drinks, while the other half is roughly balanced between pharma and liquor, and other FMCG and personal care products.

Large customers planning major plants

It also manufactures PET preforms for global drinks giants such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in India. “Large customers in the beverage segment are planning major plants. We are contracting with them to move close to their facilities.”

Current capacity for the firm is 50,000t of plastic packaging, but Kedia said it expected to grow this to 75,000t with the addition of a $30m factory in Bidadi, Bangalore, which had just begun operations.

A further 25,000t of capacity would be created by a fourth factory in the city. “Construction will start in one month. There will be large capacity for speciality packaging there. It will take about 15 months to build.”

Research and development

The plant would include significant storage space for finished product and a research and development section for packaging innovation. “Unless we add value we can’t get higher value from our customers.

He has some plans for a modest export sales increase, from 6% to 8% of turnover. “We would look to be stronger first in our own country,” he said, but added: “We look to continue our leadership in this segment not only in India, but across South Asia.”

Manjushree’s success was fuelled by the growth of India’s middle class, which was demanding more access to food and drink and higher quality packaging, he said.

Middle class growth

“The middle class is growing by 100,000 every day and is responsible for our growth in sales. Cities are developing malls and almost all the world’s top fast food chains are in India and are adding up every day. [Sales of] colas are growing at 15-20% and [bottled] water at 20-25%.”

The country had seen a major shift in liquor from glass bottles to PET in the past 10 years, with the latter now representing 60% of all containers for that category, said Kedia. “In the next five years, this will rise to 100%.”

Despite the rapid pace of change, Kedia said there would still be room for Manjushree to improve on existing packaging on the market and keep up current growth rates for up to 20 years. “In India at the moment, packaging for food items is not so well developed. The materials and technology are not available.

“My existing customers will continue to grow at a rate of 15% a year and new customers will shift from glass to plastics, so I foresee a good future for packaging.”

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